| % of time | % of time | % of time
mode | working on | cleaning up | wasted on
| my own stuff | others' crap | other B.S.
--------------+--------------+--------------+------------
a. 9 to 5 | 10 | 40 | 50
b. consulting | 30 | 40 | 30
c. start-up | 100 | 0 | 0
Sure, it may not feel as unproductive as sitting in meetings all day and not accomplishing anything, but it's still time that you're doing annoying tasks instead of hacking.
Good: writing someone else's software
Better: working on my own business (not writing software)
Best: writing my own software
Most 9 to 5s are about face time (or butt-in-chair time) and consulting is about billable hours. If you can do your job more efficiently (better job done in less time), a 9 to 5 says you still have to be at work looking busy until a certain time and in consulting, getting the job done faster can result in less money earned (if you're charging by the hour).
In your own start-up, finding more efficient ways to get things done benefits you directly. You now have more time to complete the next task. The sooner you finish, the better.
If you want to know how I'm doing follow my blog Opportunity Cloud.
Working at the startup before having my first child: not too bad, sometimes stressful, but I could handle it well. The work was always engaging, and it was hard to separate work from life.
Working at startup post-child: stressful, because now having a kid means I can't put in long hours at work as my family needs me at home. I would much rather forget about work and focus on the needs of my family when 5 PM rolls by. I was more susceptible to burn out once I started my family + working at a startup.
Big Corp: lack of stress, nice compensation + benefits = happiest workplace. The slower pace does not drive me crazy, and instead it gives me a chance to indulge in my technical curiosities.
For now, I'm enjoying my big corp employment. It's only been 3 months so far, and I realize that may change if I have to deal with more corporate BS, but it's the most enjoyable workplace I've been at so far.
The catch here is that my team here is top notch, and the section I'm in is very engineering/hacker oriented.
I'm currently doing consulting and bootstrapping projects with my wife as co-founder, living in the country-side of france in a cheap place, with our son.
Startup are really not my dream actually: I worked for one in my early days. 9to5 jobs really appear "cluttered" to me (ie: lot of time wasted on low value stuff, where you could really benefit from that time with family or hobbies).
That alone sounds like a dream. Where in France are you living?
Consulting is nice but a little stressy in that you always have to find clients.
Haven't done a real startup.
I guess my most happy place would be contracting or consulting. University was also a very happy and stimulating time for me, though I didn't realize it at the time.
I'm having a really difficult time with my career path and work life at the moment. Can you tell?
I've worked at two startups: one small and untested that failed, and another that was more a very immature established company(they had products, customers, revenues, etc) but espoused the "work all the time, because there's too much to get done" philosophy.
I've also worked for a private company that did consulting for the US Government (mostly, but not all, for the DoD). The quality of life was great, but I was surrounded by people who were interested in punching the clock.
I started working as a game developer earlier this year, and have found its lows way lower than I imagined and its highs few and far in-between.
I don't think there is a panacea. I second the opinion that: - work you find rewarding - with people you enjoy doing it with - for acceptable compensation
is about as good as it gets.
Working on a startup is the most difficult, and the most draining. It requires some personal sacrifices that have negative side effects, even if you don't buy into the "work 100 hour weeks" BS. Emotionally, it's draining. Financially, it sucks - until it doesn't (if you ever get that far). Once investors step in, the stress ratchets up and things just generally become a pain in the ass. On the plus side, you're living it - making something from nothing in an all-out effort. To bad "living it" gets pretty old after a while (and it takes more than a while to get something good going).
Consulting is a great balance for me. I work on my own stuff a lot, meet great people, do interesting things and generally live a low stress life. Financially, it's ok. I'm not getting rich, but it's better than startup pay (.i.e. zero). The one drawback is the nagging thought that your side project could be a "real startup" if you just put more effort into it and got some other people involved...
So basically, pick your poison. There's a flavor for everyone.
I have a love/hate relationship with contracting. I love the actual work and the dynamics involved, but I hate not having a monthly fixed budget and always having to fight for high-paying projects. A lot of business/administration is taking up my time which I could by spending on my own projects.
I think I'm most happy at a small company which is just emerging from the startup phase. I like flexible hours, working from home sometimes, dynamic and intense environment, a salary, an office to go to, etc. Best of both worlds I guess.
They all have ups and downs but if there's any one conclusion to draw from my experience it's that the most important thing to make you happy is the people you work with day to day.
The second thing is having a life outside work.
The third would be a job that makes meaning.
Adding it together I would think that starting a small consultancy business together with people I know I enjoy working with would be the optimal scenario.
Why not a product based startup? A startup has to consume almost all your mental energy. It's much more uncertain, more stress. Sure, the highs are higher, but the lows are also much lower.
Consulting: once you get out of the mindset of feeling you always need steady income (getting sporadic client payments, having to follow up with clients, etc), this is actually pretty comfortable. You have a lot of freedom to define your life's activities. Just be sure to charge appropriately and know what you need to live on.
Startups: starting a startup is very different than just working in one; working as an employee (even with equity) in a startup may seem hectic at times, but in the end, everything isn't sitting on your shoulders when all is said and done. Being a founder has the additional burdens of a business - including dealing with incompatible partners/founders. Its easy to walk away when you're an employee - harder when you're a founder.
I've done all three (any two of the above at the same time) and can say that I would be happiest in a functional startup (rather than dysfunctional!) - just be sure to choose your partners well. I'm reasonably happy doing consulting work at the moment, but I don't feel particularly challenged, which is why I'm looking to dive back into the world of startups again.
Working at a 9-5 -- sorry, 8-8 -- is like Prozac. It dulls the extremes, and sometimes that can be a good thing.